Safety & Accident

California Bill Requires Ignition Locks for Drunk Drivers

June 1, 2016
• by Staff

The California Senate has unanimously approved new legislation that would require ignition interlocks for all drunk driving offenders in the state.

Currently in the state, ignition interlocks are required for drunk driving offenders only as part of a pilot program in four counties. Mothers Against Drunk Driving praised the legislation, SB 1046, that was proposed by Senator Jerry Hill.

“MADD is grateful to the Senate for moving this life-saving bill forward,” said Colleen Sheehey-Church, MADD national president. “In the coming weeks, MADD will be visiting Assembly members and calling on them to quickly pass SB 1046 to protect residents and visitors from this 100% preventable crime.”

Earlier this year, MADD released a report examining the usefulness of ignition interlock, which shows how many times the devices successfully prevented drunk-driving attempts in every state.

In California alone, the interlocks prevented more than 1-million attempts to drink and drive. Around 125,000 of those attempts involved drivers with a .08 blood alcohol level, the legal definition of impaired driving in the U.S.

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